Volunteer: Serve children in foster care so parents can continue caring for them

In order to be a foster parent, adults must participate in regular training sessions where they learn how to best care for the children who have been placed in their homes.

To make it easier for parents to attend the several-hour meetings, Buckner offers free child care made possible by screened volunteers. Because of people like Kim Wilson volunteering in Dallas, foster parents don't need to scramble to find someone approved to watch their children. The parents also know volunteers will care for their children as they would.

"It's a blessing to the kids," she said. "It's a blessing to the parents. It's a blessing to us."

Wilson is one of about 20 people who volunteer from Mundo de Fe. The group has created a ministry specifically tailored for foster care children during training sessions. It looks a lot like other children and youth ministries, including ice breakers, worship, Bible teaching and lessons that connect with issues foster youth face.

The ministry is an opportunity to remind the children that God loves them, Wilson said. It is another time for foster children to be surrounded by people who care about them.

"I always want children to know that God loves them, that they are created in God¹s image," she said.

Mundo de Fe volunteers often see children frequently, giving them an opportunity to connect and build relationships. They learn children¹s names and what they like. Children get to know the volunteers.

"These kids need more than a home," Wilson said. "They need consistency. They need love. As a volunteer, you can help provide that. You can teach them. You can give them love."

Volunteering through Buckner is one of several ways to help children in foster care. For more information, visit our Volunteer Central to see all the opportunities to serve.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Texas foster care system has been in headlines all over the state. There has been a shortage of foster families and an increase in the number of children removed, which means children are having to spend the night in CPS offices on makeshift beds while they wait for a safe place to go. Buckner is a leading foster care and adoption agency in Texas and as Christians, we feel compelled to respond by bringing awareness to the issues, dispelling stigmas and giving tangible ways for you to help a hurting child who needs a warm bed and loving family. See full coverage of the crisis here.